In what can be perceived as SMEs rapid adoption for cloud-based SaaS solutions, Xero Limited, an online accounting software company says it now has over one million subscribers globally.
In the last two years, Xero subscribers of its cloud accounting packages has grown worldwide with over 300,000 new subscribers registers in just the last one year. The Xero’s accounting software solutions launched in South Africa in 2016 and has since grown rapidly registering many users.
“Five-and-a-half years ago, at 50,000 subscribers, we asked shareholders to imagine our business at a million subscribers. We invested for the long term to build a business and ecosystem to achieve those numbers. It’s very satisfying to deliver on that promise,” said Xero CEO and Founder Rod Drury.
“Starting around ten years ago with our first lines of code, it’s amazing to see the global community who have built businesses on our platform. We thank our accounting and bookkeeping partners, small businesses customers, our Xero people, and investors who have been cloud pioneers, reinventing how small businesses work in a digitally connected world.”
Cloud computing has disrupted the business world over the past one decade, with more and more small businesses now engaged in cross border trading. The rise of small global businesses has also seen the rise in uptake of cloud accounting services.
“Only a global platform – on a single global code base like Xero – can offer the opportunity for small businesses and their advisors to expand their businesses offshore, connect to banks in multiple countries and use Xero’s technology and payment partnerships with Google, Apple, Square, Paypal, Stripe and others to do business seamlessly all over the world. It sets in motion a global network effect as small businesses expand their trade between countries,” continued Drury.
“Many of the 100,000 business advisors who work with their clients on Xero have small businesses that import or export. The increasingly global nature of small business means that, like Airbnb, Amazon, and Facebook, accounting platforms must also be global. Surpassing one million subscribers positions us as a leading global cloud accounting platform. We’re just getting started.”